Christine Benz - 30-minute money solutions : a step-by-step guide to managing your finances

You'd think that managing your own money would be the most elemental of life skills, one we would all master at an early age. You work and are paid money. You spend some and save the rest. You invest some of what you save for higher returns in the future in case you can't work then. It doesn't sound like that difficult a set of skills to develop. Certainly, most of us develop much more complex capabilities for social interaction: how we dress, behave in public, develop a sense of humor, choose friends, maintain relationships, find employment, select a place to live, and so forth. Compared with that, personal finance should be a breeze.

Yet for most people personal finance remains a mystery, leaving far too many of us prone to scams that play on our navet. Small wonderfor most of us, the subject of saving and investing wasn't something discussed at home while we were growing up. It most certainly wasn't something taught in our schools. And to compound the problem, the financial services industry seemingly goes out of its way to make the topic impenetrable. What other industry has more needless complexity and more confusing and constantly changing terminology? Did your Fannie Mae ARM get turned into an RMBS or a CMO with a long WAM rated by a NRSRO and sold to a convert/arb shop?

Fortunately, it is possible to cut through the nonsense and forge a sound financial path, even if you're not hip to this week's financial acronym. The basics of personal finance are just that: basic. Buy low, sell high; live within your means; understand your time horizon; set reasonable goalsthese are all simple concepts that can be readily grasped and, with effort, mastered by all of us. All you need is a good coach to help you cut through the clutter and keep you on target. 30-Minute Money Solutions is designed to be just such a guide to get you started or to help you brush up on individual tasks such as saving for college or rolling over a 401(k) plan.

I can think of no finer guide for conquering these tasks than Christine Benz. Christine is a gifted financial analystas talented as any we've ever had at Morningstar. She quickly rose through the ranks as an analyst to become director of all our mutual fund analysts. Under her leadership, the team did groundbreaking work and Christine nurtured a team of fine young analysts into seasoned pros. Following the typical Morningstar career path, Christine was poised to run a business unit or to take a central role in corporate management, but she chose to follow her heart. She recognized that her first love was helping investors, so she opted to become Morningstar's in-house financial-planning expertand she's really run with that mandate, editing our PracticalFinance newsletter and contributing regularly to Morningstar.com.

Christine recognizes what far too many people in financial services forgetthat it's all about the individual investor. If the investor doesn't win, everyone in and around the investment process has failed, no matter how big a bonus some investment banker or bond trader may walk away with. Personal finance is about people. Helping people navigate this terrain and meet their goals is Christine's passion. You'll see that concern and the human element throughout this book, which centers on real issues faced by real investors. I truly believe that 30-Minute Money Solutions will help you take control of your financial life and master the elemental skill of personal finance. And by doing that, you'll put your family's security and your own dreams on firmer footing, something we would all define as a winning outcome.

Don Phillips

Managing Director

Morningstar, Inc.